Table 1.
Articles predominantly related to match physical performance analysis.
| Study and sport in which the study was carried out | Sample | Main outcomes measured | Results | Quality score (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| (64)—Rugby | 8 elite female players (1) Backs (n = 4) age, 27.0 ± 2.6; (2) Forwards (n = 4), age 26.6 ± 1.9 | Heart rate (HR), time, speed (SP), distance (DT), location, and number and intensity of impacts (Himpts) and accelerations (ACC) expressed as g forces). GPS units were used. | The players covered 5,820 ± 512 meters and showed positional cinematic and mechanical differences. They exerted themselves at 91%–100% heart rate for 46.9% ± 28.9% of the match. | 96.7 |
| (65)—Gaelic Football | 56 elite male players (age, 15 ± 0.66 years; height, 176.8 ± 6.5 cm; weight, 69.08 ± 6.72 kg and VO2max 50.77 mL-kg−1min−1) | Predicted VO2max was assessed using the Yo-Yo Intermittent Recovery Test. Players HR, Speed zones, total DT, and the number of sprints were recorded by GPS units. | Players’ intensity levels peaked at 85% of match maximum HR. The distance covered in the second half was less than that in the first, and midfielders covered the most ground at 6,740 ± 384 meters. | 90.0 |
| (43)—Rugby | 33 elite male players (age: 25.2 ± 3.5 years; weight: 101.2 ± 13.2 kg; height: 79.8 ± 33.0 cm | ACC, DEC, and body impacts during match play were recorded using GPS units. | Forwards had intense impacts and greater physical demands, while backs had frequent moderate to heavy accelerations and decelerations. | 93.3 |
| (66)—Gaelic Football | 50 elite male players: age (24 ± 4 years), height (180 ± 7 cm), weight (81 ± 7 kg), and years on squad (5 ± 3 years) | The match's performance was tracked using GPS, measuring distance covered, speed, ACCs, and peak velocity. | Players completed an average of 2.6 ± 0.5 ACC per minute. Midfielders covered more total and high-speed running distance. Running performance reductions varied by player position. | 90.0 |
| (46)—Football | 46 elite players (age 20 ± 3 years, height of 179 ± 5 cm, body mass of 79.5 ± 6.3 kg) | GPS units were used to assess total distance (TD), high-speed running (HSR), high metabolic load distance (HMLD), ACC, and DEC | Different formations affect player performance. The 3-5-2 has high TD and HMLD, while the 4-2-3-1 has high ACC and DEC. | 80 |
| (67)—Football | A total of 2,951 rows from training and official matches of 42 elite players | GPS devices were used to collect (1) Locomotor Variables, (2) Metabolic Measures, and (3) Mechanical Variables. | Certain variables can represent as representatives of a collection of highly related variables, lowering the number of variables required in coaches’ periodic physical analyses from 17 to 4. | 66.7 |
| (52)—Rugby | 63 players of the French or Irish national u20 teams. (age: 19.8 ± 0.5 years, body mass: 99.1 ± 9.1 kg, stature: 185.4 ± 7.0 cm) | GPS devices tracked running abilities: TDm.min 1, HSR m.min 1, HMLD m.min 1, Sprints n.min 1, ACC n.min 1. | Higher metabolic loads in back and forward players. Players with the most match-play exposure exhibited moderate-to-large decreases in total and HMLD in backs. | 90.0 |
| (25)—Australian Football | 39 elite athletes (age: 23 ± 4 years, height: 187 ± 8 cm, mass: 86 ± 9 kg). | For all indoor matches, athlete physical output was collected via the local positioning system (LPS). During outdoor matches, all participants wore a GPS device. | Two methods were developed to identify the relationship between physical, skilled, and temporal outputs, on and individual and team level. | 93.7 |
| (59)—Football | 22 elite players (age = 21.96 ± 4.53 years; height = 180.68 ± 5.23 cm; weight = 72.36 ± 4.19) | RPE and Training and Match Workload—21 kinematic, 37 metabolic, and 30 mechanical metrics) were computed from the GPS raw data. | Results suggest that it is possible to predict RPE from GPS training and match data. | 80.0 |
| (68) –Gaelic Football | 85 Gaelic football players (U-18) (17.57 ± 0.53 years) | Anthropometry (% body fat), Vo2Max and Match running activity categories with GPS devices. | Players cover an average of 5,774 ± 737 m in a 60 min match and achieve % HRmax (81.6 ± 4.3%) and %VO2max (70.1 ± 7.75%). There are positional differences. | 87.5 |
| (32)—Gaelic Football | 432 individual full match datasets collected across 52 matches of top teams. | Technical variables; Total distance (m) and high-speed distance (≥17 km h−1 m) with GPS units and minutes spent on the pitch. | Ball play duration, opposing team's short kick-outs, and possession time impact overall and high-speed distance run. | 86.7 |
| (69)—Football | 6 professional players (23.0 ± 1.8 years) | Velocity and subsequently GPS acceleration data that were used to quantify player movement. | Shorter durations showed inconsistencies in high-speed runs, sprints, and ACC. Longer minimum durations led to a decrease in efforts. | 86.7 |
| (70)—Field Hockey | 10 male (age; 38.7 ± 5.4 years, stature; 1.77 ± 0.07 m) and 11 female (age, 33.5 ± 6.5 years; stature; 1.66 ± 0.04 m) | Effort frequency, distances, and time were measured by using GPS units | Differences between males and females in total distance covered, time spent engaged in high-intensity running (HIR), frequency of HIR, and distance covered during each HIR effort. | 86.7 |
| (53)—Rugby | 118 elite male players (57 seniors aged 28.7 ± 4.4 years; 61 juniors aged 17.2 ± 0.5 years) | Positional game demands using a GPS unit and video analysis. The anthropometric, locomotor, and contact metrics were recorded. | Senior and junior players, including forwards and backs, have improved in tackles. Backs have higher kinematic and mechanical metrics than forwards | 93.3 |
| (54)—Rugby | 38 elite players (23 ± 3 years;1.87 ± 0.06 m; 99 ± 10 kg) | Heart rate training impulse (HR-TRIMP), sRPE-TL. GPS metrics were monitored: Mechanical Work; Impulse, Metabolic Work; HP Distance; ACC/DEC; HS Distance; Distance. | EL correlates strongly with IL indicators. Total effective load (TEL) is best determined by combining HR-TRIMP and EL, considering body weight and ACC/DEC. | 100 |
| (55)—Football | 5 matches and 60 players from Professional First Italian League. | Evaluate speed, acceleration, deceleration, and metabolic power in soccer players through video tracking (K-Sport Universal, Italy). | Most frequent events occur within 1–2 m of ACC and DEC threshold. External midfielders perform the highest-intensity actions. | 53.3 |
| (35)—Rugby | 188 professional players from teams from Ireland, Italy, Scotland, and Wales. | Positioning metrics using GPS-IMU: TD (m), meterage (m.min−1), HSR; maximum velocity (m.s-1); number of efforts distance and repeated high-intensity locomotive efforts (RHILE) and HSR efforts | RHILE was higher in international games than in club games; out-side backs (OB) showed greater distance and meterage in international games. Significant differences were observed across all six positional groupings (P < 0.05). | 60.0 |
| (33)—Basketball | 94 elite under 18-year-old basketball players (age, 17.6 ± 0.8 years; height, 1.91 ± 0.08 m; Body mass, 82.5 ± 8.8 kg; BMI, 22.7 ± 1.8 kg/m2) | Time spent on activities during a soccer match for positional differences. EL using GPS technology: distance covered, player load (PL), ACC/DEC, peak speed, and peak acceleration. | Top teams had lower RD, with guards having higher RD than forwards and centers. First quarter showed higher RD, %HIR, and PL. Third match had higher demands in RD, HIR, and PL than the first two matches. | 100 |
| (71)—American Football | 43 collegiate players (age, 19.9 ± 1.5 years) | DT (m); maximum velocity (MV) total inertial movement analysis (Total IMA) = ACC, DEC. Positional differences [Wild receivers (WRs); Defensive backs (DBs); Offensive line (OL); Defensive line (DL). | DBs traveled farthest, but DLs exceeded them. MV found that DLs scored higher than OLs. WRs had the strongest acceleration. All positions differed in DEC intensity. | 86.7 |
| (72)—Ice Hockey | 20 elite male players. Seven defenders (age; 19.3 ± 0.5) and 13 forward players (age 19.3 ± 0.7) | Skating speed thresholds were monitored by period (1°; 2°, 3°) and by game situation (5v5; 4v5; 5v4): | During gameplay, forwards have more high-intensity skating than defenders, while both positions experience a decrease in skating intensity during the third period. | 86.7 |
| (38)—Football | 18 male players (seven defenders, five midfielders, and six attackers) from the Norwegian Premier League (age, 26 years; height 183 cm, body mass 80 kg) | PL, layer load; HIE, high-intensity events; HSRD, high-speed running distance; sRPE-TL, session rating of perceived exertion training load; VHSRD, the very high-speed running distance by the GPS. | Total distance, PlayerLoad™, PlayerLoad2D™, and HIE >1.5 had most likely substantial within-player effects on sRPE-TL. sRPE-TL showed large to very large between-session variability with EL. | 90.0 |
| (73)—Football | 23 female elite players (age: 27.65 ± 4.66 years; height: 165.35 ± 5.82 cm; weight: 60.91 ± 5.34 kg). | EL [walking distance (WD, m); jogging distance (JD, m); running distance (RD, m); sprinting distance (SD, m); different zones of ACC/DEC, were assessed by players’ positioning across different matches. | Decrease in external locomotor demands across played matches. | 93.3 |
| (37)—Futsal | 28 elite male players (age: 24.1 ± 3.4 years) from eight futsal teams from the Final Eight of the Portuguese Cup 2018 | The GPS measured various metrics, including distance covered, sprints, maximum speed, impacts, jumps, stress load, and metabolic power. | Player performance was assessed based on kinematic and metabolic metrics. The strongest correlation was found between cluster levels, DEC, and an increase in DT per minute in the second half. | 96.7 |
| (61)—Futsal | 13 elite players (age: 28.8 ± 2.4 years, weight: 73.7 ± 6.2 kg, height: 175.9 ± 5.9 cm) | With GPS units, kinematics (absolute high-speed running, relative speed running, and total distance) and mechanical (PL), high-intensity ACC and DEC) were assessed. | MD-2 is similar to the match. High- and very high-demanding scenarios (n) in the training session prior to the match dropped in comparison with the rest of the microcycle and the match. | 93.3 |
| (74)—Futsal | 14 elite players (age,30.21 ± 3.98 years; height, 1.77 ± 0.07 m; weight, 74.85 ± 6.40 kg) from a professional club of Spanish Futsal first division League. | The LPS monitored various metrics: distance, ACC, and velocity. These included Relative Distance, Explosive Distance (ED), HSR, ACC, DEC, ACCMAX, DECMAX, ACCMEAN, DECMEAN, Velocity MEAN, and Sprints. | Physical requirements provided similar outcomes in the first and second halves. Wingers outperformed pivots in terms of HSR distance. All player positions had a high amount of ACC and DEC each minute. | 93.3 |
| (36)—Futsal | 16 elite male futsal players (age, 25.74 ± 4.71 years; body mass, 74.2 ± 9.8 kg; body fat 11.1 ± 5.8%) | Maximum Heart Rate (MHR) by Yo-Yo Intermittent Recovery Test. In Competition: Internal measures (Heart rate); EL: Low Medium and High ACC per/min; PL (a.u). Technical Variables | MHR via the Yo-Yo IR1 test (194.6 ± 11.1 beats min−1). Mean HR value during “court time” of 164.7 ± 22.3 beats min−1. 77.3% of ball receptions were completed with the sole of the foot. 80.1 ± 16.7% of individual possessions used the dominant foot to receive and 84.1 ± 10.7% to pass the ball. | 73.3 |
| (62)—Futsal | 87 male U17 athletes (three to five sessions of weekly training) and 85 elite adult male athletes (8 to 12 sessions of weekly training). | Video tracking to record % very HIR, total distance covered (TDC)/min, successful passes, pass efficiency, and substitutions in each half. | The number of substitutions contributed to higher TDC, %VHIR. Decrease in %VHIR promoted lower pass efficiency. Substitution improved running performance. | 93.3 |
| (75)—Futsal | 79 top-league adult players (age: 28.4 ± 4.6 years) and 59 top-level youth players (age: 17.1 ± 0.7 years) i | Percentage of distance covered (%). Speed categories: walking (0–6 km/h), low-intensity running (LIR; 6.1–12 km/h), medium-intensity running (MIR; 12.1–15.4 km/h), HIR; 15.5–18.3 km/h, and sprint (>18.4 km/h). High-intensity exercise (HIE) = sum of MIR, HIR, and sprint. | Youth players have longer playing time and lower HIE than adult players in sports. Pivot players cover less ground than wingers in adults, and defenders have lower levels of HIE without ball possession than wingers. | 86.7 |
| (76)—Futsal | 43 elite male futsal players from six elite futsal teams | Warm-up routines: Closed skills, Open skills, and Futsal-specific skills. EL was monitored by using the LPS: Total distance covered (m); Distance covered (m/min); running (m/min); Sprinting (m/min); ACC (n/min); DEC (n/min) | Including futsal-specific warm-up tasks prepareplayers for the game. ACC and DEC increase during warm-up, leading to higher intensity. | 73.3 |
| (63)—Football | 19 football players (age, 26.78 ± 3.77 years old; body mass index, 23.1 ± 0.19) from the La Liga. | GPS units to track the worst-case scenario (WCS): TD covered; HSR distance (HSRD) and sprint distance (SPD). The WCS were generated using fixed length and rolling average approaches based on playing position. | Fixed length methods of varying durations greatly underestimated the WCS of TD, HSRD, and SPD across playing positions. In professional football match play, the rolling average approach is suggested for obtaining a reliable WCS analysis. | 86.7 |
| (77)—Field Hockey | 24 international hockey players from an international hockey team (age = 26 ± 4, max aerobic speed = 4.85 ± 0.23 m.s−1). | EL by the GPS: Relative total distance (RTD); HSR; Sprints distance (SD); ACC; DEC; Low-speed running (LSR), Dynamics stress load (DSL); ED, HML efforts; HML distance (HMLD); Total Load (TL) | Significant effects were found for possession status on several physical output metrics. Not possession, except for forwards, is the category with more demand (RTD, ED, HSR). | 93.3 |
| (78)—Football | 26 male professional players (age: 28 ± 4 years; height: 182 ± 6 cm; body mass: 78.8 ± 6.2 kg). | Optical tracking to determine de WCS for TD, high-speed running (>5.5 m.s−1) and sprinting (>7.0 m-s−1). | The WCS, defined as the maximal physical load in a given time-window, produces unstable metrics lacking in context, with high variability. | 86.7 |
| (79)—Futsal | 14 professional players (age: 28.8 ± 2.4 years, weight: 73.7 ± 6.2 kg, height: 175.9 ± 5.9 cm) | LPS to measure EL by playing position: Relative distance (m.min−1), HSR distance (m); HSR efforts > 18 km.h−1 (n); ACC (>2m.s−2; n.min−1), DEC (>2m.s−2; n.min−1); ACC distance (>2 m.s−2; m.min−1); DEC distance (>2m.s−2; m.min−1). | EL load metrics vary among positions and players. Contextual factors can affect the perceived difficulty of demanding scenarios. | 100 |
| (80)—Football | 25 male professional football players from the German Bundesliga. | GPS tracking to analyze the physical match performance; total distance, high intensity distance (17–23.99 km/h), sprinting distance (≥24 km/h), accelerations (≥1.5 s) for each player and each position. | The change in physical match performance can be explained by 44%–58% through the normative positional data. Individual differences impact the way players perform when acting in different positions. | 86.7 |
| (34)—Rugby | 11 Elite national team players (age: 24.3 ± 3.3; stature 166.1 ± 7.2 cm; body mass: 66.1 ± 7.4 kg) | GPS units to track EL measures: TD/min; Standing/walking (0–6.0 km.h −1); jogging (6.1–12.0 km.h −1) Cruising (12.1–14.0 km.h −1); striding (14–1-18.0 km.h −1); HIR (18.1–20.0 km.h −1); sprinting (>20.1 km.h −1); ACC(n) (>1.8 m.s−2) and DEC(n)(< −1.8 m.s−2). IL was by s_RPE and wellbeing. | No significant differences between congested matches were observed in almost load measures. Congested match schedules negatively impact RPE, muscle soreness and overall wellness. | 100 |
| (81)—Futsal | 126 professional players, including goalkeepers 6. | Video tracking system (30 Hz) to measure distance covered (DC) and percentage of DC in different speed ranges to identify differences per team and per subphase of the game (traditional vs. outfield goalkeeper situation. | With the outfield goalkeeper situation, the team spent a higher percentage of the distance covered in the standing and walking speed range compared with the traditional goalkeeper positioning. | 90.1 |
| (40)—Futsal | 17 male professional players (age: 28.8 ± 2.4 years, weight: 73.7 ± 6.2 kg) | WIMU LPS to assess high-intensity activities (HIAs: sum of acceleration, decelerations, and high-speed running actions). | Players with more playing time and with a specific work-rest ratio (1.1 ± 0.6 a.u.) show a greater ability to repeat HIAs per rotation. | 100 |
| (82)—Football | 20 elite players (age, 29.4 ± 4.4 years; height, 1.8 ± 0.1 m; and body mass, 74.8 ± 2.3 kg) | Chronic workload ratio (ACWR) via session-rated perceived exertion (s-RPE). GPS units tracked DC, HSR, and SPD by starters and non-starters during the season. | ACWR was the highest at the beginning and end of the midseason, with higher values at the start of the early season, specifically through SPD. Correlations were found between EL and IL metrics across all three in-season periods. | 96.7 |
| (83)—Football | 14 professional male players (age: 23.86 ± 3.58 years; weight: 73.74 ± 5.92 kg, height: 1.79 ± 0.05 m) | Maximum intensity periods (MIPs) tracked by using GPS units: distance covered at HSR, and Sprinting, ACC density (AccDens), mean metabolic power (MetPow), meters per minute (Mmin) and HMLD >25.5 W/kg. | Differences in HSR, Sprint, AccDens, MetPow, and HMLD thresholds between players. Positional variations were observed in MetPow, Mnin, and between halves in AccDens, MetPow, and Mmin. | 93.3 |
| (56, 84)—Football | 20 elite players (age: 29.40 ± 4.35 years; body mass: 75.00 ± 3.87 kg; height: 1.79 ± 0.05 m; body mass index: 23.38 ± 1.79). | ACWR and exponentially weighted moving average (EWMA) were calculated using session-rated perceived exertion (s-RPE), total distance (TD), HSR distance (HSRD), and SPD during three seasons. Kinematic metrics were evaluated using GPS devices. | Except for EWMAsprint, workload measures observed in the midseason were higher than those in the early season. Wingers and strikers tended to have a greater workload than defenders and midfielders. | 96.7 |
| (58)—Football | 19 male elite players (26.8 ± 3.8 years, 1.79 ± 0.08 m, 73.6 ± 6.4 kg) | PL (Tri-axial) with the GPS (WIMU tracking system) by player's position. | Total PL may be suitable for tracking locomotor demands or accelerometer-derived loads. | 96.7 |
| (85)—Football | 17 elite young players (15.2 ± 0.3 years, 171.4 ± 6.5 cm, 62.5 ± 7.5 kg) | During specific SSGs, EL such as TDC moderate speed running (MSR), HSR, Sprinting running (m), ACC/DEC (n), and PL, was assessed by using the GPS. MHR and RPE were also assessed | In SSGs, shorter defensive periods enhanced HSR, while longer defensive periods raised RPE. | 100 |